Home  Entertainment Reviews Review: The Oresteia -- Live! (Sept. 24)
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Review: The Oresteia -- Live! (Sept. 24) |
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Written by Barry Gaines
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Monday, 24 September 2007 |
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In Strange Company continues to subdue dramatic classics at the North Fourth Theater, and nothing is more classic than “The Oresteia” by the Greek playwright Aeschylus, first performed in 458 BCE. This trilogy of plays tells of the god-cursed House of Atreus, stories of blood and vengeance.
Here is a quick synopsis: Atreus had two sons, Agamemnon and Menalaus, kings of Argos and Sparta, who marry sisters Clytemnestra and Helen. Agamemnon and Clytemnestra have three children: Iphegenia, Orestes, and Electra. When Helen is abducted by the Trojan Paris, the Greeks attack Troy. After a decade of fighting, the Greeks bet on a Trojan horse and win the war. In the process Agamemnon sacrifices Iphegenia, and his wife awaits his return to seek revenge. Clytemnestra kills her husband and marries his double first cousin Aegisthus. That couple is in turn killed by Orestes with the help of his sister Electra. But Orestes is tormented by the Furies, female personifications of vengeance, until gods Apollo and Athena intervene and substitute trial by jury for the never-ending, family-centered blood revenge. And you thought the Sopranos were kinky! In Strange Company has adapted the three plays into a one-hour radio show being broadcast live by four performers: the Kastroupel Sisters—an amalgam of the otherwise anonymous actors’ last names (Molly Kohl, Susan Stroupe, and Jessica Barkl)—and Gary Mahoney (Garrick Garcia). The women wear WWII-era khaki blouses, black ties tucked into khaki skirts, and matching garrison caps—sort of WAC-y. Garcia wears a blue jumpsuit with military patches and cap. These four dramatize the story in pre-TV-radio style with sound effects, commercials, and news flashes. The characters often break out in dance and 1940s songs, nicely accompanied by pianist Drew Carlin. All the performers are likeable and the song parodies range from sophomoric to clever. Kohl as Clytemnestra belts out “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” Barkl as Electra sings “Why was I born to love you” to her dead father, and the Furies sing “Who’s Sorry Now” à la the Andrews Sisters. There are plenty of laughs: Agamemnon’s tomb is an old console radio, and Barkl and Garcia present a spirited variation of the classic Abbott and Costello routine “Who’s On First.” There were lighting problems early, and the use of the vintage radio mikes was inconsistent, but the hour was fun. If You Go WHAT: “The Oresteia—Live!” WHEN: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through September 30 WHERE: North 4th Theater, 4904 Fourth NW HOW MUCH: $15 general public, $10 seniors and students. Call 345-4542 for reservations
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About Reviewers D.S. Crafts (Website) Composer Daniel Steven Crafts came to New Mexico from San Francisco where he had hosted a classical music radio program on KPFA. His first commission from opera star Jerry Hadley, "The Song & the Slogan" based on texts by Carl Sandburg, was made into a TV program for the PBS network and aired nationally in 2004 and won an Emmy for Best Music. His latest opera La Llorona is a collaboration with novelist Rudolfo Anaya based on his play "The Season of La Llorona." Mr. Crafts is currently working on another commission from Jerry Hadley for a piece about the American Southwest which includes texts by Rudolfo Anaya and V.B. Price. Two CDs of his music, Contemporaries (short, satirical keyboard works) and ARIAS (excerpts from his various operas) have been released on the BACAT label in San Francisco.
David Steinberg David Steinberg has covered state government, the courts, city and county government in Santa Fe for the Albuquerque Journal. He's been an arts writer for the past 20 years, and serves as the book editor, for the Journal. Over the years, he's also acted in plays, sung in choruses and played trumpet.
Jennifer Noyer Jennifer Noyer has been writing dance reviews for the Albuquerque Journal for 17 years, as well as contributing articles for Dance Magazine and other art journals. She trained in dance with Hanya Holm in New York City and Colorado Springs, and studied several dance techniques at the graduate level at the University of Michigan. After teaching dance at Wayne State University she entered and completed a Masters Degree in Humanities there. In New Mexico Ms. Noyer has taught, directed, and choreographed contemporary dance for several years. Her writing on dance includes a monograph accompanying the video of choreographer Bill Evens’ ballet “The Legacy.” An overview of Evans’s world wide career, it was written and published during his tenure at the University of New Mexico. Ms. Noyer’s studies in the humanities, and her studio dance work influence her approach to dance as an integrative art form in the United States.
Barry Gaines Barry Gaines has taught Shakespeare in the University of New Mexico English Department for over twenty-five years and has received two outstanding teaching awards. He has written theater reviews for the Journal since 2000. He has attended theater all over the world including Shakespeare productions in Russia, South Africa, Denmark, and Poland. He has also served as literary advisor for two professional theater companies and written performance reviews for Shakespeare Quarterly. Gaines has taken two years of acting with Paul Ford and appeared in small parts in three plays at the Albuquerque Little Theater. He believes that he is probably a better reviewer than actor.
Joanne Sheehy Hoover Joanne Sheehy Hoover, music critic emeritus of the Albuquerque Journal, has written for NPR, PBS, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Symphony, among others. She has also been a music lecturer for the Smithsonian Associates and a music critic and arts writer for The Washington Post. She was director of the Levine School of Music, one of the country’s largest community music schools, in Washington, D. C. 1980-1993. She and her husband moved to Corrales, New Mexico in July 1993. Also a poet, her fifth collection, “Einstein in New Mexico,” was published in 2002.
Marissa Greenberg Marissa Greenberg is a member of the faculty of the University of New Mexico English Department, where she teaches Shakespeare and early English literature. A prior guest reviewer for the Albuquerque Journal, Greenberg will be reviewing theater while Barry Gaines is out of town. She also composed and edited the program notes for last year’s Albuquerque Shakespeare Festival and has written performance reviews for Shakespeare Bulletin. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, Greenberg has been performing and studying drama for most of her life. She is thrilled to have this opportunity to review for the Journal.
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